“Best advice…” Tom said as we climbed into the komatiks and headed for the ‘bird cliffs’, “Don’t open your mouth when you look up!”
When we reached the cliffs, the guides warned us to watch where we stepped – but while photographing the hundreds of terns and mers, our Aussie buddy Brett learned the hard way, plunging into the water up to his armpits. The guides hauled him out and showing true Aussie toughness and good humor, Brett stayed and dried out remarkably quickly.

After lunch, we made our first trip out to the floe edge where we sat at the edge of the ice, stunned by the vastness of the environment and watched huge flocks of King eider ducks swooping past, their images reflected in the mirror-like water.

Suddenly our guides signaled us. Less than a mile away, a polar bear watched - we were in his backyard.

It was an afternoon of watching, of breathing cool, clear air, and of trying to capture our new world with cameras that suddenly seemed totally inadequate.